Brian Stann, family among motivators for UFC on FUEL TV 10's Raphael Assuncao

Although he’s spent more of his life in the United States than in his native Brazil, returning to his home country still will be a special moment for Raphael Assuncao.

Assuncao (18-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) meets Vaughan Lee (13-8-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) next month at UFC on FUEL TV 10, and it will be his first fight in Brazil since he dropped to bantamweight and beat Johnny Eduardo at UFC 134 nearly two years ago.

Given he’s been living in the States since before he took up fighting, UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro was his first chance to fight in Brazil. It was also the UFC’s first show in Brazil since 1998. But he said he did his best to keep the excitement of the situation from becoming a distraction.

“When I fought in Rio, it was the first time that the UFC went back to (Brazil), and I was coming off a loss,” Assuncao told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “So I was really focused and I didn’t let it distract me at all. I kind of had to let my family go a little bit and cut them off sometimes – but just to stay focused.”

Much of Assuncao’s family still lives in Brazil, including his parents. He said his father, in particular, has become a fan of the sport and is particularly excited to see his son fight at UFC on FUEL TV 10, which takes place June 8 at Ginasio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.

The first time around, it was the thrill of a lifetime for them to be able to watch Assuncao work – even if Assuncao was very workmanlike about his approach.

“They were super happy,” he said. “For me, it was just another day of work because I was focused and I just wanted to do my job. But for them, it was a great experience. My dad talks about it even now. So it’s a good deal.”

Assuncao started a three-fight win streak at UFC 134 with his win over Eduardo. After some injury time away, he stopped Issei Tamura with punches this past July, then took a unanimous decision from Mike Easton in December.

Looking up and down Assuncao’s resume, his losses all are to quality opponents: Jeff Curran, Urijah Faber, Diego Nunes and Erik Koch. A four-fight win streak after a victory over Lee would likely get him back into the conversation against bigger names like the ones who have beaten him.

But if the Atlanta-based Assuncao ever gets down on himself, he has a believer in frequent training partner Brian Stann, a UFC middleweight contender.

“Brian Stann motivates me so much, not to mention he’s one of the best fighters in the world,” Assuncao said. “He’s a super leader. He helps me in my career and constantly reminds me – not that I’m not confident on my own.”

He wants to use that confidence to start pushing toward the next level.

“I don’t want to say it’s my time – but I feel like it’s always been my time,” he said. “I feel like I’m still learning. Even though I’m 30 years old, I’m still maturing every day and learning. I’m not a champion, but it gives me confidence thinking of what I’ve achieved. I came back from two losses and now I’m 3-0 (in my past three) and beating some good guys. I don’t underestimate anybody, but I have a little extra confidence in me for this next fight.”

Against Easton, he had less than three weeks’ notice and pulled off a unanimous decision. But despite that, he’s still critical of himself for that victory.

And that’s why he believes against Lee, fans could see a different Assuncao than they saw his most recent time out, which included a lot of making sure he didn’t get hit.

“I’m worried about (Lee),” he said. “I’ve been working a lot. I’m not happy with my last performance. I beat the No. 6 guy on short notice, but I’ve seen it on video and I don’t like it. Even Joe Rogan was saying I was trying to play the Lyoto Machida style a little bit. But I think I’m going to be sharper this time.”

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